New to digital scrapbooking No problem. Below you’ll find everything you need to get started with this easy guide to digital scrapbooking.

Hardware

Inkjet Photo Printer           Shop Now >>  
Photo Scanner                Shop Now >>

Software

Photo editing or       scrapbook layout software, such as Adobe® Photoshop® or Photoshop® Elements
Beginner digital       scrapbookers can try out free Microsoft Word layouts from Canon Inc’s Creative Park website.
                                    Get Creative >>

Materials

• Acid-free scrapbook or album
• Digital photos
• Genuine Canon Photo Paper: When printed on with genuine Canon inks, Matte Photo Paper and Photo Paper Pro produce beautiful scrapbook pages. Shop Now>>
• Genuine Canon Ink Shop Now>>
• Stock and save up to 32% when you buy Genuine Canon Combo or Multi packs Shop Now>>
• Free templates and scrapbooking elements from Canon Inc’s Creative Park Website. Get Creative >>

I. Organize
Before beginning a scrapbook layout, you must first organize your photos, negatives, memorabilia, keepsakes and digital files. If you have a digital camera, you can upload your photos onto your home computer. These photos should be stored in a well organized manner. The best way to do this is to create a logical folder structure.

1. Start with a main folder for all of the photos.
2. Within this folder create a series of subfolders for each year, and within each year folder create folders for events. For example: “My Photos: 2007: Holiday Photos.”
3. Be sure to name your photos in a way that will be easy to identify and search.
4. It is also good idea to store backup copies of the files on a non-magnetic removable storage device like a portable hard drive.

Start by sorting your photos by event and subject. Purchasing an acid-free photo box would be a good idea. Once your photos are sorted, write up index cards indicating the event and date. Label any unidentified photos. Place the photos into the box chronologically and by event. The same should be done with family keepsakes that may be scanned in and scrapbooked at a later date. This will make the photos and keepsakes easy to find when you are ready to scan them or put them into a scrapbook.

II. Scan
Scanning photos is a great way to combine your digital and print photos in one layout. It also allows you to restore old photographs, edit and enhance pictures, and allows you to print and glue digital versions of photographs that you do not want to permanently glue into a scrapbook.

III. Layout
Now comes the fun part. Digital scrapbooking not only can save time and money, but it gives you many more options when creating layouts while still providing the same look and feel as traditional scrapbooking. Canon has many great online resources to get you started with your digital scrapbook layouts. Check out Canon Inc’s Creative Park for free backgrounds, tags, and other elements, and be sure to visit the featured projects page for some fun scrapbooking ideas.

IV. Print
Once your layouts are finished, the best way to preserve these memories is to print them out and store them in an archival quality album. The free Canon Easy Photo Print software is a great way to organize and print your layouts.